Former Port man, well-known YMCA employee, dies in snowy I-43 crash

A former Port Washington man and well-known employee of the Feith Family Ozaukee YMCA died at about 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in a snowy crash on I-43 in Saukville.

Nicholas Schrott, 38, of Milwaukee, was driving north on I-43 when his 2009 Pontiac Vibe hit the rear of a disabled semitrailer parked on the shoulder of the freeway at the Saukville exit, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Meijer semi-truck, 57-year-old Monty Cox of Michigan, was not injured.

At the time of the crash, Schrott was on his way to work at the Saukville YMCA, where he had been employed since March 2017, Kirsten Coenen, director of the Ozaukee Y branch, said.

Often the first person to greet members at the front desk, Schrott was always welcoming, she said. 

“He always had a smile on his face and was willing to help in any way he could,” Coenen said. 

Schrott, she said, went the extra mile to help members.

“Last year his goal was to take every single group fitness class we offer on his own time so if members had questions about any of the programs he would have the answers,” Coenen said. 

When he wasn’t behind the YMCA’s front desk, Schrott was in the pool teaching children how to swim. And true to form, he made kids felt comfortable in the water and had fun.

“He would come up with these themes, like pirate week where he’d dress and talk like a pirate while teaching swimming lessons,” Coenen said. 

Schrott was also known for his eclectic taste in music, which he played at the Y, and his collection of colorful knee-high socks.

“That’s how we’re going to remember him this week,” Coenen said. “We’re going to wear our crazy socks in honor of him.”